Loyal
by Kasumiwolfdemon
Summary: He was loyal only to his Master who had decided to keep Naruto within Konoha. They had trained and molded him into the chaotic force of destruction that not even they could contain. They would soon meet the concequnces of their actions Dark,Older Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way though if I did Naruto would of taken over the entire shinobi world by the age of 10

Authors Note: Okay so maybe working on like 4 different stories(ahh srry bout the wait on those by the way) at once isn't the smartest thing to do but hey, when I get an idea for a story I run with it, this is something that just kind of came to me, though I really don't know how, I'm just a sucker for an cold Naruto I guess (giggles) any way just so you don't get confused on the way Naruto and Yakumo are the same age as Itachi (who i believe is 5 years older than the rookie 9), which will be explained why later anyway enjoy. Oh for those who've read my story Scars I'm working on the the next chapter as we speak or rather as you read...

Naruto and Yakumo: age 18

rookie 9: age 13

team gai: age 14

* * *

The rain seem to pull him down as he stared at the person laying face first in front of him, though his breathtaking blue eyes held no regret or pity in them as the rain began to wash the pool of blood away. Ensuring that his own wounds had completely healed, he quickly jumped to the roof as he made his way back to the base. His mission had been completed, his master would be pleased. He could sense the team sent to clean up the mess arrive at the scene and he simply increased his pace. All that could be seen in that showery night was the faint silhouette jumping from roof to roof.

* * *

He kept his head bowed as he awaited his Master to enter the room, the faint shuffling of sandals on stone could be heard out in the hall as the door opened bringing with it a new presence, that made it's way to the chair situated in front of the kneeling subordinate.

"What is the status your mission Naruto?" A male voice rang out resounding with experience

"A complete success Master," A deep voice rang out from the kneeling teenager, who raised his head to lock his blue eyes with his master's lone one before continuing on,"I disposed of target as ordered and the body is being taking care of by the sweepers at this very moment"

"Nicely done, as expected of you Naruto,"

"Thank you Master,"

"You've exceeded my expectations, I'm quite proud to call you my student," The person paused before continuing his sentence,"tell me Naruto did he say anything before he died?"

"Yes master, before I severed his spinal cord through his neck, he muttered something about Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto lips twitched as though wanting to form a frown when the boy's name left his lips

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yes master he said that he didn't understand why his lord had any use of him," The twitch had gone unoiticed as he regained control over his emotions

"So he intendeds on following through hm," The man paused again," Naruto it seems that you'll be receiving another mission sooner than expected, Sarutobi was a fool becoming so weak that he couldn't even finish off his own student,"

"Master what of the new hokage?"

"Ahh that's right you haven't met the godaime Hokage yet have you Naruto?"

"No, though I've collected information about her so that I would be prepared to when I would,"

"Good, I need you to keep an eye on the Uchiha boy to make certain where his loyalties lie,"

"Hai," The man sensed something in the tone

"I know about your reservations with the Uchiha but I need to do this, the agent that I placed for this duty is having roule relaying information back to me,"

"Hai, though from what I hear the young Uchiha is quite temperamental, if he were to attack me...,"

"Yes, I give you permission to retaliate with anything short of crippling or killing him," Naruto looked up in surprise at his Master.

"I see that your surprised Naruto, while we do need the Uchiha we certainly don't need his superiority complex,"

"I thought that since he is the last within the village that you would want to protect him,"

"If he thinks himself better than even the Hokage, then what use is he really?"

"If it is what you wish master," the man gave a slight smile at the comment

"Do try to get some sleep Naruto you look quite tired,"

"Of course Master," Naruto turned to leave

"Oh Naruto," The mirth in his voice could be heard and Naruto suddenly felt a shiver creep up his spine, "Yakumo will be your partner for this mission," Naruto who had his head turned away from his Master grimaced slightly. "Please notify her of this also,"

"Yes Master," Naruto closed the door quietly before making his way down the hallway takeing quick lefts and rights Naruto found himself in front of an door that was no different than the others that had proceeded it. Naruto gave a quick sigh before pulling on a blank face and knocking on the door with the back of his hand.

No response other than the click of the lock was heard inside before the door swung upon revealing Yakumo garbed in standard Anbu gear, Her dark golden brown eyes seems to light up slightly when she saw Naruto though nothing else hair style had stayed the same over the years, she still wore it long though the 2 belled clip had been replaced with an unnoticeable pin for missions. "Master has sent me to inform you of our new mission," Yakumo raised a thin eyebrow in surprise and amusement.

"Whats the basics of our mission?"

"You'll be informed in exactly 3 minutes when Master debriefs you," Naruto stiffly turned away and disappeared down a hall way leaving Yakumo standing there. Yakumo stared at the spot that Naruto had just occupied before letting out a small sigh and fixing her face into a blank mask she shut her door then proceeded to the Master.

* * *

Naruto walked down the hallway towards his room as he reflected on the day, It hadn't been as hard seeing Yakumo as he had thought it would be. though everything had gone well it still seemed to cause his head to ache which was why he was going to go sleep it off. It wasn't as though headaches were unpleasant for him not that they weren't annoying, it was more what came with his headaches that burdened him it brought back memories that Naruto didn't want to think about.

Naruto opened his door and closed it behind him without thinking, a quick scan of the room showed nothing irregular like every other room it contained a bed, dresser, with a desk and chair. Walking over to the dresser he quickly relieved him self of his Anbu armor including his shoes deciding that had no need for his shirt he removed that as well leaving him left in his dark blue pants.

He shifted around in the bed as he attempted to get comfortable, finding a position that suited him Naruto could feel himself dozing off. As his sub concious took over he was assaulted with flashes and excerpts of memories.

* * *

_"I forgive you Naruto, I always will don't forget that," Two small children sat alone in a park, the smaller of the two holding the other as they cried; it began to rain_

* * *

_"Surely you don't want to lay there on the ground all day," A dark haired boy held out his hand to his blond companion who finally took it after a slight hesiatation_

* * *

_"I'm requesting an early graduation for you three for you all show exceptional skill above your age. To ensure that you receive no backlash from the older students I' am pre-placing you all on the same team so that you may still be with those of your own age. I expect great things from a team with such calibur," The 3 eight year olds all shared a look as they attempted to not burst out grinning_

* * *

_"You're all applying for anbu at the same time?" All in response that Hokage received was a shared stotic face from the 3 twelve year olds. " To get into Anbu is a feat it's self for a single shinboi but for an entire team I-,"_

_"I apologize for interrupting Hokage-sama, but I recall when you suggested that we graduate early you said that expected great things from our team, there is not much greater than being the first 3 man squad to become Anbu at the same time," The Hokage stared at Naruto as though trying to see the young boy that he had once knew but failed and turned his attention to the three applications that lay in front of him. Giving a small smile he brought his sight back up to the trio in front of him_

_"I'll give all three of you recamendations, you make quite a point,'_

* * *

_Naruto stood at the entrance gates which he had opened enough for someone to be able to slip through without causing a stir. The mission should of been completed by now so that the carnage wouldn't be found until the morning securing the shinobi a clean getaway. Naruto raised his head as he felt the familiar chakra signature appear near him. His teammate walked to the gate seemly surprised to see Naruto waiting for him, they both stood there staring at the red bleeding across the sky signifying the rising of the sun._

_"Your late," His black haired teamate gave a small smile at comment which looked odd on his blood specked face_

_"It took longer than I had expected," The red in the sky was soon joined by splotches of orange casting the two in half shadows_

_"Why are you letting him believe those lies?" The accusatory tone in Naruto's voice was not unnoticed and his companion gave a sad smile in response_

_"because...I want him to survive" Naruto clenched his teeth obviously not satisfied with the response_

_"If you don't leave now, I can't guarantee you that they won't catch up with you,"_

_"I know, I just-," He paused before continuing on," Goodbye Naruto,"_

_"Goodbye my friend,"_

_"I've enjoyed every moment Naruto," He was gone before Naruto even heard his name, he sensed his signature quickly making it's way from the village before disappearing, the sun had nearly risen now and the sounds of people waking up. Jumping onto the rooftops he quickly made his way towards base it would do no good if he was seen this early in the day_

_"Mission complete," The statement was muffled by the wind that was common in the village, it won't be long now Naruto thought to himself as he continued to the base. It was forty-five minutes before the first grief stricken scream rang out._

* * *

Naruto and Yakumo silently made their way down the hall located in the Hokage's tower, they were garbed in normal shinobi wear as not to tip off that they were Anbu they were similar to those they had worn before they had entered the Anbu program. The amount of time that they would be working on this mission had been undecided and and depended on how long it took to understand what regards that the young Uchiha held towards his mission and also to access the current rookie genin that had been dubbed the rookie 9. The two both paused in front of the door that lead to the Hokage's office before Naruto reached up and knocked twice on the door. They were given a muffled affirmative and opened the door.

* * *

Authors Note:

^.^ uhmmmmmm so yeah I think you all can pretty much guess who Naruto's genin team was, those excerpts were just moments of his memory that I thought could be used to kind of show what kind of childhood he had

as for Yakumo and Naruto's relationship i shall delve deeper in the next chp when they meet the "godaime hokage" ^.^

I wanted to make it longer but it just didn't work out

It's also rated M for future violence gore and sexual situations *wink*

anyway plz review I would very much appreciate it


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, if i did Naruto would of long ago formed an underground mob like group and taken over the elemental countrys

Authors Note: Wow I was totally surprised to get so many reviews on only one chapter which I am very Thankful for, on another note I just want to give a heads up that Naruto has a tendency to refer to people that he thinks are weak in a certain way, I'm not sure If you caught in the last chapter but he refers to them as trash and nothing else. Just wanted to let you know so you don't get confused when he meets the genin

Attention: It is common knowledge that Naruto's last name is Namikaze in this fic but no one actually knows the Yondaime's actual full name so no one will make the connection between Naruto and the Yondaime without having known Minato.

"Talking"

_'thinking'_

_Flash back_

Naruto and Yakumo: age 18

rookie 9: age 13

team gai: age 14

**KuraKawa minam**: Ahh thank you very much as for Yakumo's weak body that prevented her from becoming a established shinobi in canon, I do have an idea to fix it which will actually help the relationship between Yakumo and Naruto lol, but while she will be much stronger in canon she will still tire out sooner than most Anbu do, though her Genjustsu abilities are much more matured now

**Cruailsama**: Really you haven't? I would of thought that many people would write Naruto this way maybe not as distant but still in the same position of power anyway thanks for reviewing and I hope that you enjoy this chp ^.^

**nobother**: Of course I will just read on lol and Thanks for reviewing

**JeremiahB**: That's okay, perhaps I was too vague but anyway you'll definitely know after this chapter and Thanks for reviewing

**OBSERVER01**: ^.^ thnx for reviewing

**Sephirtoh own u all**: ahh thank you very much for that nice comment

* * *

They were met with the sight of a busty blonde woman taking generous sips of a sake bottle as she glared at the rather large stack of papers that had been laid in front of her as though trying to will them away. Naruto could only give an annoyed glare at the sight before him, disgusted by the blatant display of irresponsibility shown by someone who was suppose to be a outstanding role model to all at every moment. Though his face quickly smoothed to a completely blank expression before preceding further into the room as to not alert them of his thoughts. It would do Yakumo and himself no good if they were to make a bad first impression with the new hokage, such a thing would only harper their mission even if the woman was trash. That was something that Naruto would with all his power keep from happening.

Other than the Hokage and her Assistant that Naruto recalled who was named Shizune, He and Yakumo were the only ones within the room. Though in Naruto's mind that did nothing to alleviate the seriousness of the Hokage's behavior, because from his observations their was no doubt she did this even when their were other Shinobi with in the room. Though they had been within the room for at least a few minutes it seemed as though the other two occupants had failed to notice their presence being rapped up in their own conversation. Growing impatient Naruto stepped forward to the desk with Yakumo fallowing behind.

"Hokage-sama, you called to see us," Naruto's deep voice captured the attention of the two bickering females that stood before him

"Ahh yes Kurama and Namikaze-san, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," The short black haired one quickly responded seeing as her master seemed to be a bit dazed looking at him.

"As it is making yours," Yakumo replied not trusting Naruto to respond with out insulting them, sending a slight smile to appear more emotional than was allowed within the base. The blond hokage had finally snapped over her stupor though her eyes never left Naruto, a flash of some unidentifiable emotion was seen within her brown eyes.

"I must say that I'm quite impressed with both of your credentials," The trash Hokage had finally spoken her moment of confusion long past as she set herself into a position that radiated confidence. "Becoming such high ranking shinobi at such young ages, truly an amazing accomplishment,"

"We merely worked hard Hokage-sama, we want to protect our village with all of our power," Yakumo responded her smile a bit strained though went unoticed by the fellow females within the room.

"That's exactly why I have called you both here, it seems that the younger shinobi of your generation seem to lack what my sensei liked to refer to as 'the will of fire'. I feel as though they don't know what it means to truly be a shinobi and I wish to instill this in them," Seeing the looks of understanding within the two young Anbu's eyes she let out a small smile. "I think that accompaning them on a few missions would help plant those tributes with them, to open their eyes to the true world of shinobi,"

"Of course Hokage-sama when shall we meet them," again Yakumo answered

"They're all out of missions right now so your main mission is to set out and retrieve each of the teams, bring them together then accompany them back to the village, let them get to know you before you go on more personal missions with them,"

"Of course Hokage-sama, when do you wish us to leave," '_trash'_the rooms occupants blinked in surprise when Naruto finally spoke though the impassive expression he wore had not changed in the slightest, though inside his mind it was a different matter, it seemed as though the village was still being run by the wrong people it was merely the usual trash leading trash. His master would be one of the best Hokage's that this bigoted moronic village could ever have and yet they just gave the position away to drunk simply because she could channel chakra efficently into her hits and she was the granddaughter of the first Hokage.

"In three hours, I'll have someone give you a debriefing scroll at the gate," she paused before continuing on ,"You won't have any problems being around the uchiha will you?"

"Of course not Hokage-sama," seeing that everything had been covered she motined that the meeting was over and they could leave. Both Yakumo and Naruto gave a small dip of the head before turning around and swiftly leaving the room. Shizune removed her sight from the door that they had just exited and brought her gaze to her master, who's smile had faded and a weary look had entered her eyes.

"Master what-," Shizune was cut off as Tsunade muttured something under her breath that she just barely caught

"Just like him,"

* * *

As soon as they left the gate they went to the trees skillfully jumping from tree to tree as they made their way towards the location of team 10. They moved quickly and efficiently as all shinobi should, no words were spoken as they made their way to a clearing. There was nothing that needed to be said, rather verbally it was being with your teammates for such a long time basically guaranteed the fact of being able to understand the others commands and thoughts from a mere glance or expression. Though now adays not many teams gained this ability being too wrapped up in their own little worlds to noticed the ones around them, leaving them helpless in a dire situation.

It was one of the many reasons that his 3 man team had been accredited as one of the best teamwork within the village to date only a second to the sennin before orochimaru had defected among the high ranking teams still working together their was also the Nara Yamanaka and Akamichi team. It was strange how the two teams mirrored each other, both containing ninja that had given up their childhoods to be thrown into the violent and bloody life of shinobi because of their skills. Each team had even lost a member by deflection, though with the sennin it was by choice. But Naruto shunned the thought from his mind, it wouldn't be helpful within this mission to dwell on the past, their could be nothing done to change it.

After efficiently banishing his former thought process to the darker recesses of his mind, the mission that he was currently on his way to completely. His master had been correct when he said that even with the Hokage's dislike of the political powers involved with her position she would still play into the plans that had begun to take play, whether she was aware of it or not. Naruto gave a side way glance to Yakumo who had caught his eye and gave the barest of nods indicating the message had been received. Naruto could sense the chakra signatures of team 10 growing stronger as they closed onto their position. Within a few minutes his true mission would begin, while the very outcome of his mission would shake the foundations of the elemental nations.

* * *

Shikamaru gave another long winded sigh as his blond teammate continued to give the impression that she didn't understand the principle of stealth and continued to rant rather loudly he noted something about Sasuke. While his other teammate Chouji who was a life time friend, blissfully ignored their third teammates declarations on how Sasuke's hair fell perfectly around his face, by continuing to stuff chip after chip into his face from his seemly never ending supply of bagged chips.

Removing his attention from his teammates he set on sights on his sensei Asuma, who was currently nonchalantly smoking a cigarette as he usually did blowing the smoke out in a rather lazy manner. This was one of the reasons that Shikamaru liked his sensei as much as he did, simply put he was lazy like them he said that the kind of team work that their fathers still possessed to this day would no doubt come to them in the long run and their was no need to force it sooner than needed. Though Shikamaru could see something wrong within his logic, he didn't pursue because simply it meant less work for him.

* * *

Naruto and Yakumo landed soundlessly on the thick branches of the large tree that shielded them from team 10. They had been observing the four for approximately thirty minutes. Though he hadn't expected any of the team to sense their presence, they were still rather lacking as shinobi in his eyes. There was no readiness within the way that they held themselves as they traveled if not for their clothes they would be no different than civilian children merely going for a midday stroll. This meant two things either these genin fresh out of the academy had some how required the body language of a well seasoned anbu shinobi within the small frame of time that they had been a team, or they were simply siting ducks in their prime for a plucking. Not only was the former completely impossible to consider the loud attention bringing noises they all made simply pointed to the latter.

Out of the three genin the one with the most potential was dark haired boy with the bored expression who he identified as Nara Shikamaru. It was not unknown that the Nara clan was revered for the many geniuses that it produced, though the intelligence was almost always wasted. It seemed as though it was genetic for the Nara clan to be rather lazy when it came to their daily duties. a favorite activity of theirs being playing shogi or watching clouds. Naruto passed no judgement on this, he was quite aware that everything and everyone had flaws though some more than others.

Naruto glanced over to Yakumo to watch her own assessment, followed her line of sight and found her staring at the blond Yamanaka with barely detectable loathing in her gaze. He was not surprised at her immediate dislike of the Yamanaka girl, she was the exact type that Yakumo hated. She was a loud, vain girl who with her actions was currently dragging the kunoichi name and reputation through the mud. Though with naturally smaller chakra sources and not as strong as their shinobi counterparts, they were much more agile and stealthy a reason that many kunoichi chunnin rank and up were assassins.

Because of their much better control over their chakra they could easily slip behind enemy lines with a henge without detection. Because of this natural skill they possessed Kunoichi were expected to be withdrawn and quiet when on all missions that involved foreign shinobi or anyone out side of their home village, this was done as not to bring attention to them selves so that when they were successful with the assassination of their target, they would not be able to be recognized or affiliated to their own village. This saved the villages from the political backlash they would have received if the mission were to somehow be traced back to them, something that wasn't good for their mission status.

Feeling that they had observed team 10 for long enough, Naruto gave Yakumo a quick signal communicating that they were reveal themselves to the genin team very shortly, Yakumo met it with a small nod before they both flared their chakra slightly and lept from the trees.

* * *

Because he had unconsciously been watching his sensei for quite some time he immediately noticed when Asuma tensed up and discreetly reached for the holders at his waist that held his trench knives. It wasn't untill 2 figures appeared infront of them did Shikamaru understand why his sensei seemed ready to go on an all out fight.

"Stand down Sarutobi-san, there is no need for violence," The taller of the 2 stepped forward, with his deep voice signifying that he was an male. Recongition spread across his sensei's face as he seemed to recognize the voice, relaxing his tense stance a smile flitted across his features.

"Namikaze-san it's been a while," the two people gave no response to the warm welcome perhaps signifying that they say no need with such greetings "Surely you haven't come all the way out here just to say hi to me,"

"Of course not Sarutobi-san," the male who had been identified as Namikaze-san spoke with a edge to his voice as though he was insulted that Asuma-sensei would even hint he would do such a frivolous thing

"We're here on a mission of course Sarutobi-san," The smaller of the two spoke revealing them to be female by the pitch of their voice.

"Ahh Kurama-san, that is you, though I'm not surprised surely the Hokage-sama wouldn't separate shinobi with such great teamwork and track record to boot,"

"We shall take that as a compliment I suppose," The male spoke again before pausing, "our mission is to escort your team along with the other rookie genin back to the village, Hokage-sama has something of great importance to say that all the genin must in attendance for," The smile on his sensei's had vanished as he absorbed the information

"But why would she se-," Asuma was interupted by the kunoichi Kurama-san

"We're not the ones who assign the missions Sarutobi-san, we merely carry them out,"

"I see, well I guess that we'll be in your care then," His sensei gave what he saw as a defeated sigh before he motioned for them to follow after him and the other two shinobi.

Shikamaru now watched the shinobi with a interested glint within his eye that quickly vanished before his teammates caught sight of it, he sent a quick glance towards his other two teammates and was stopped cold from what he saw. Ino was staring at Namikaze-san with an expression that she saved for only one person, Sasuke. Shikamaru let out a sigh before mumbling his usual phrase of troublsome, it was just like his loud teammate be become infatuated with someone she didn't even know. It certainly was going to be a long trip back to konoha.

* * *

Authors Note(again lol):

God this got so much longer than I thought it would, here I had only gotten to team 10 and I was already at 3k words, I was going to have all three teams within one chapter but to help me characterize the other 2 teams better I'll be doing them separately

srry if the idea seems cliche but i just needed to find a way for them to interact

Ahh I kinda noticed that Tsunade seems a bit more oh manipulative but I like to think this is a more realistic version of how a Hokage would govern their ninja their is a lot of major politics involved and I feel that Tsunade would no doubt be immersed within them

Oh If i spelled Yakumo's last name wrong just tell me and I'll fix it

as for Yakumo and Naruto's relationship i shall delve deeper in the next chp a bit of a heads up it might be a bit slow going but don't worry it'll get there , I apologize because I was going to try to get to it in this chapter but I kind of had to get the plot going before I could so I'll try to get some of it in the next

umm you probably noticed that Naruto didn't outright any of the genin trash even to himself (in his mind lol) because he's the type of person who decides whether their trash based on personality and skill and once he labels them trash he's very unlikely to ever change that about them so uhh how do i say this he kind of catalogues all of their traits and such and thus deciedes whether they're complete trash or not based on that

^.^, heh Naruto's pretty harsh huh

It's also rated M for future violence gore and sexual situations *wink*

anyway plz review I would very much appreciate it


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, if I did Naruto would of long ago formed an underground mob like group and taken over the elemental countrys

"Talking"

_'thinking'_

Naruto and Yakumo: age 18

rookie 9: age 13

team gai: age 14

**Nobother**: Ahh I'm glad to know that I'm not completely butchering Naruto, although you'll probably understand fully the reason of his behavior once I delve into his childhood again; I'm very appreciative that you see the nonsense of my imagination possible of forming a good story lol

**Vaanarash: **Thank you very much it means a great deal to me that you find my story interesting. I also agree with you on the grammar part I totally suck at it too many nonsense rules for me, perhaps I should look into getting a beta

**OBSERVOR01**: Thanks for the kind compliment and I shall do my best to keep it up

**Sephiroth owns u all**: Thanks again and I most certainly will

**Thoughts13**: Thanks and I'm glad that you like the professionality of Naruto (who i believe you are referring to). This is my idea of what a true shinobi would act like, not some ADHD loudmouth throwing flashy jutsu at people. ahh sorry about my comment I shall say no more before I go off into a rant

**Ame no Kutsuu:** Ahh thank you very much. I too noticed that there are not many NaruYaku stories which I think is rather odd since they seem to pair him off with almost every female within the series. I'm glad that you like my stories and I will no doubt continue to update, it's simply my silly imagination that prevents me from doing it more often :)

* * *

The sound of sandled feet on hardened dirt was all that could be heard as the group made their way down the path hidden with the immense foliage that surrounded them on all sides. This was one of the many reasons that Yakumo detested rookie gennin, because of level of skill or rather lack of it and their limited amounts of stamina, they had to travel on the trail rather than through the trees of which most leaf shinobi preferred. It seemed that they had made the right decision in collecting the genin led by Sarutobi Asuma first out of the three teams. Because of their rather laid back attitude and work ethic they actually were quick to follow orders given by their seniors, something that they had heard that their comrades seemed to have trouble with.

However, their willingness to follow orders didn't make Yakumo dislike them any less or rather her any less. Out of the three genin Yakumo concluded that she disliked Ino the most. Not only did she seem to be one of the worst kunoichi she had ever met, she certainly did not like the way she was looking at Naruto. It wasn't that she believed that Naruto could ever be interested in the Yamanaka, Yakumo merely didn't wish for what would happen when the girl's dream would be shattered. For there is never a time when Naruto wasn't anything but blunt when conforonted with such things.

She knew better than anyone how hard it was to love Naruto, something she knew she might never receive back. However, she was content with the way things were now, although it hurt, it was enough for her. She had dealt with it entire life and she was quite sure she could continue to, after all, he was all that she had left.

* * *

It had been a bit difficult in choosing which team to acquire next for so many factors and to calculated for the success of the mission. But the decision had been made removing the tedious task from his mind. They would have to simply attain team 7 before team 8 for the sake of his sanity and Yakumo.

Though while dealing with the Uchiha would be a bit annoying it was nothing compared with the Inuzuka boy that resided on team 8, he had no desire to come into contact with such trash until forced to. Another reason for the choice was what had happened between Yakumo and Yuhi Kurenai though, Naruto believed that any person would at least dislike someone who attempted to seal your abilities simply because they were unable to train your body to keep up with it.

So they were currently on the path towards the current location of team 7 led by Hatake Kakashi. A man Naruto mused he hadn't seen for a while or at least after he had left the Anbu and the position of Captain to become a simple jounin. Though for what reason Naruto did not know but he had a suspicion that it had to do with one of the last Uchihas becoming a genin. The kunochi of team 7 was someone who he was unfamiliar with, the reason being that she was the first person of her family to become a shinobi and he had yet to access her skills. Though that was the complete opposite of what Naruto knew about the third team member 'Sai'.

He was one of few genin that Naruto believed could actually become an excellent shinobi, compared to him the rest seemed like complete trash. Though, the difference in which they were trained before becoming genin could atest to the difference between him and the rest of the rookie genin. Truth be told he hadn't seen Sai, as he was called now, in a while being busy with missions and Sai with his. It was a shame that Sai had to down play many of his abilites as not to stick out amounst his 'peers', who nodoubtly needed the reality check that would come at the display of such skills.

_-----------_

_Two figures clashed in the middle of the clearing, though they were clearly badly matched. One was much taller than the other no doubt signifiying that he was of a greater age than the other, the way he moved also show cased his experince that the other lacked. The smaller figure was sent flying backwards from a hit from the taller male._

_"Get up and do it again," The taller male spoke as the other stood up and wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth_

_"Of course Naruto-senpai, though I doubt I'll ever be able to beat you," The pale dark haired boy finished with smile that seemed to lack sincerity_

_"I don't expect you to but If you can even dodge half of my attacks you'll be doing fine, besides if your going to smile at least make it look like the real thing or don't do it all," Naruto sent a small glare at the boy_

_"I'm sorry Naruto-senpai, it just seems to be much harder than I had anticipated, perhaps you could help me?" He brought his black eyes up to meet Naruto's blue _

_"I doubt it, how can I if you don't even know what happiness is, which is the main reason that people smile, though people can also smile when their sad or even if their angry," _

_"People can smile when their sad and angry?" Naruto noticed a flash of confusion in his eyes before it vanished leaving nothing _

_"Yes, people who can smile when their sad or angry without anyone being none the wiser are the ones that you must watch out for especially the one's who are angry,"_

_"I see, I'll make sure to remember that Naruto-senpai, though I'm not surprised that that you are so knowledgeable about smiles Naruto-senpai your quite good at it yourself," Naruto glanced of in the distance as though deciding to respond or not, his senpai's eyes held something that he could not identify as he stared off into the distance as though he was remembering something, though the expresion was completley gone when Naruto looked back at him_

_"I'm not good at smiling, I'm simply skillful at faking them,"_

_----------_

* * *

She knew she was infatuated, even more so than she had been with Sasuke which was something that many people would believe to be impossible. He was even cooler than Sasuke was, she just didn't know how to describe what it was like looking into his gorgeous eyes, they seemed to simply give off so much maturity and experience. He was completely different from Sasuke the majority of it being physically.

Sasuke had ink black hair with dark brooding eyes that contrasting greatly with his immensely pale skin. Namikaze-kun had golden blond hair and cruelean blue eyes that went well with his lightly sun kissed skin. Sasuke was pretty, Namikaze-kun was hot. Sasuke's flawless complexion gave the impression of fragility, Namikaze-kun's whisker like scars that ran on each side of his face gave him a rather carnal look to him. A fact that she added with a slight dusting of pink upon her cheeks.

She couldn't but try to imagine what he was like when he was off duty, less cold perhaps. She soon found herself imagining what it would be like to go on a date with Namikaze-kun, to walk hand in hand down the streets of the village as people gazed enviously as they passed by. She simply ignored the fact that she didn't even know what Namikaze-kun's first name was, things like that could be delt with later besides she had more important things to worry about such as Kurama-san.

It was quite obvious that she and Namikaze-kun had a close relationship most likely stemming from being on the same team, she merely needed to find out how close of a relationship it was. For when Yamanaka Ino decides something she never does it halfway.

* * *

A high pitched scream that ran through the air caused the group to pause. It would be within his bounds within their mission to investigate being so close to the location of the second team of genin. Naruto concentrated on the chakra signals that came from 2 miles away, they had to be recognized as at least one of team seven for them to intervene. Naruto recognized the chakra signature of Hatake Kakashi and Sai before turning towards Sarutobi-san.

" It seems as though team seven has fallen into some trouble while on their mission, since there are the next team to be picked up we will come to their aid," This statement brought the genin's attention to the direction the scream had come from and when they had turn the gazes in that direction. Naruto locked eyes with Sarutobi-san and began to mouth the order as to relay the message without the genin learning of it.

_'Take your team to help, we will intervene only if nessisary'_

Asuma furrowed his brow as though to express that he didn't see the reason for the order but he followed it none the less.

"Shika, Chouji, Ino we'll be meeting them straight on, be ready to intervene the moment we arrive," All three gave nods of acknowledgement and began to make their way through the underbrush at the highest speed possible. Asuma glanced back at Yakumo and Naruto before following after his team.

"We'll find an appropriate spot to view how well both of the teams perform in such an event,"

"Of course, shall we then Naruto?" Yakumo had inclined her head in the direction that team seven lay and within seconds there were making there way through the trees quickly passing and unseen by team ten.

* * *

Ino could feel her leg give an involuntary tremor as she stood next to Sakura at the edge of the clearing. Team seven had encountered a group of missing nin that unfortunately for them had a higher rank not only in power but also in experience. She had been designated to stand by Sakura who had exhausted her chakra and the opponents minds being to dangerous for her to enter, while the others along with the two male genin of team seven helped Kakashi and Asuma-sensei.

When she had learned of what she was to do she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of disappointment, it would of been nice to be in the midst of battle when Namikaze-kun arrived so that she could impress him. Perhaps he would be impressed with her staying by Sakura's side throughout the battle, maybe he would see it as a form of comradeship that he might appreciate. She gave a slight dreamy smile as she began to fall into her fantasies before she was brought back to reality by the shaking of her shoulder. She turned to find Sakura to be the identity of the shaker.

"Hey Ino-pig whats with the dazed look, fantasizing about my Sasuke-kun?" Ino blinked in surprise at the tone and the words that Sakura had used before she realized that Sakura did not know of her new infatuation

"No, besides since when did he become yours?"

"Please who else would even be worth fantasizing about, besides I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun and my love shall no doubt prevail," Near the end of her statement Sakura's eyes had taken on a glazed appearance, as she too began to stare off into the distance no doubt with images of Sasuke proclaiming his everlasting love to her, something Ino could only blink in response to.

Though before Ino could retort her ears tuned into the sounds of the battle or rather the lack of it. Cursing herself for being distracted during such an event she quickly turned around and was met with the sight of her teammates and fellow genin assisting their sensei's as they finished tieing up the last missing nin. She glanced around as she searched for Namikaze-kun but was soon disappointed when she found he wasn't there. Sakura had stood up and was currently giving her a confused look most likely about to inquire why she was looking around the clearing.

"Asuma-sensei why hasn't Namikaze-kun arrived yet?" Her sensei raised an eyebrow at the title but said nothing

"Who the hell is Namikaze-kun?!" Sakura had decided to finally voice her opinion as she stared at Ino with her brow furrowed in confusion and anger at feeling left out.

Perhaps if the Shinobi within the clearing wouldn't have been so absorbed into the conversation they would of noticed the dark shadow that lurked among the trees directly behind Ino and Sakura.

* * *

It seemed as though she had been too rushed in giving what she thought at the time, appropriate titles for the genin that she had met. The title of worst kunoichi had just been snatched away by the Haruno that resided on team 7. She would be first to admit that sometimes that she was a bit quick to judge others upon meeting them but she just couldn't help but compare them to her own team, experience and skill wise. In her opinion the two genin teams hadn't put up much of a showing. There was nothing that really stood out amongst their skills, even with the Uchiha boy, he couldn't do even half of what Itachi had at this age.

Bringing her attention back to Haruno she stared on with disbelief, for even a genin kunoichi to exhaust their chakra so quickly was rather uncommon. Sure it was a given that kunoichi would usually tire out before a male shinobi given that their chakra coils were smaller in size but with a keener control. But given how few jutsu the girl used to get to that state, Yakumo felt that the girl might of never seriously trained in her entire life. However, the girl was still in the beginning stages of her career as a kunoichi, perhaps if she buckled down and began to train seriously she might be able to become a presentable shinobi.

Feeling that she had nothing more to access of the genin, she turned her attention to Naruto. He was staring at the genin with a rather serious face, one that he wore quite often. Nothing could be discerned from his gaze, he had always been quite good at masking his emotions, even when he had been a child. However, there were moments when Yakumo could see flashes of emotions within his eyes, which were something he had yet to completely wipe blank. She was the only one who could ever tell the fact being that she had known him since they had been young children. This fact comforted her in a way, to know she was one of the very few people who truly knew Naruto.

That knowledge would always help to lessen the sharp blow she felt within her heart whenever some woman would throw themselves at Naruto beause of his looks. Especially when he had to become intimate with other women for the sake and success of a mission. These women didn't know Naruto like she did, most didn't even know one thing about him, only being attracted to him through their own shallowness. They didn't know what it was like to hold a six year old Naruto in their arms as they pretended that he wasn't crying and that it was the rain following the planes of his face.

To comfort and attempt to shield him from the hatred filled gazes that the populace looked at him with. To stand by his side at their sensei's funeral as he awaited his turn to lay flowers upon the inscribed stone. To watch over Naruto after their teammate had left, they had been apart of nothing of those things. She stopped, it wasn't good to dwell on such things especially during a mission such as this.

Yakumo tapped Naruto lightly to gain his attention. After making sure that she had his gaze she moved her head in the direction of the genin to make sure that he was done with his assessments, he gave a small nod in response. He leaned to his left as he moved to leave when he froze, his eyes were dead set on the two kunoichi or rather something near them, he uncharacteristically furrowed his brow and frowned. He locked gazes with Yakumo as he gave her a quick sign. She nodded in understanding then crouching low she jumped to a higher branch as he took off through the trees.

* * *

He crept towards the two little genin that were the closest to the edge of the clearing. Unlike his idiotic companions he knew when to flee and to wait until the enemy had their guard lowered to strike. It seemed as though Kami her self was smiling down upon him, not only had the shinobi that were closest to the edge were genin, they were the two weakest ones. They weren't very observant of their surroundings arguing with each other like that on a mission, something that was terrible for them and great for him.

He positioned to kunai as he prepared to leap from the cover of the trees to kill one of the kunoichi or both if he could do it quick enough. He nearly cursed out loud when his foot nudged a pile of leaves. The blond genin turned towards his position, suspicion etched upon her face before he decided that he could wait no longer and lunged toward the two young girls.

The moment that he left the dense foliage he could see the look of fear and surprise upon the face of the blond one, the pink haired girl had yet to completely turn towards him. That fear soon became his when he felt a presence behind him, one that he had not noticed until this very point. He felt something warm cover his chin near the bottom of his jaw and the opposite side of his neck. All was felt was a quick sharp pain that dulled at the same right as everything around him faded to black and his consciousness flickered away.

* * *

Ino stared into the expressionless eyes of Namikaze-kun as her mind worked in over drive to register what had just happened. She had been arguing with Sakura when she had heard a small noise behind them. Turning towards the noise she hadn't seen anything suspicious and was about to turn back to Sakura when that man had burst from the trees. She had frozen, unable to respond as he move towards her the light giving the kunai a slight glint. Then out of nowhere Namikaze-kun had appeared behind the enemy shinobi and had, she paused and bit her bottom lip.

Her mind attempted to rebel against what she had seen. It tried to convince her that she hadn't seen Namikaze-kun come up behind the man, bring his hands around to his neck and jaw and turning the two opposite ways with a sharp tug effectively breaking the neck. Ino had always felt that when the teachers at the academy had described that it was always hard on someone who had experienced their first kill, it seemed as though they had failed to mention the shock that came with witnessing one. Her glazed eyes continued to stare at Namikaze-kun as though waiting for something in response, something to make the pain go away and to make it seem alright. It looked as though he might say something before he paused and broke eye contact as he walked past her.

"It's best that you experienced such a thing when you weren't in the middle of a battle," Ino blinked in surprise, the action clearing her eyes she felt him move away then straiting her back she turned towards Sakura to console her. She had understood Namikaze-kun's statement, it was better this way even if she didn't completely accepted what happened she still faintly understood why.

* * *

Naruto had dealt with the shinobi in most efficient manner he could of at that time. Having at the time a low tolerance for hysterics of anytime he had attempted to console the young yamanaka as best as he ever could before moving on. Due to the lack of sobbing he heard behind him, it seemed as though it had been enough for now and continued on. He hadn't needed to turn around to know that Yakumo had descended upon the clearing, it seemed as though she was going to bring the two kunoichi over to the group. He walked towards the center of the clearing where the other konoha shinobi stood and before anything was said he locked eyes the the black one of Hatake Kakashi.

"You've gotten soft Kakashi-san,"

* * *

Authors note:

Well first I would like to apologize about the wait for this chapter, it seemed as though I would start a pov and then would immediately have writer's block and not only that reality seemed to think it was funny to knock me over the head with a rather large mallet.

Anyway now that my apologies are out of the way I may continue on. In this chapter I switched between 3 Points of view. To flesh out the characters in a sense. More insight of Yakumo and Ino and a bit more on Naruto. As for the scenario that Naruto met team 7 in, I had this in my head for quite a while and simply couldn't wait until I used it, so I hoped that you enjoyed it if only a small amount.

Anyway please review and tell me what you think, liked ,hated and wish I would approve upon also If anyone knows a good beta reader I would greatly appreciate it if you threw their name towards my way :)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, if I did, well let's just say that the whole shinobi world would be knocked onto its ass

Many Thanks to Dijinn Crimsora for being the beta for this chapter, I really appreciate it

every time I read one of your reviews I truthfully let out a giggle or two because they simply just make my day, so again many thanks to those who have taken the time to tell me what they think about the story and the way that I wrote it

I would also like to thank all of the people that have either favorited this story or have put it on alert and in some cases both. It really inspires me as a writer to see that someone enjoys my stories and wishes to see more, which again is something that I thank you all very much for ^.^

Also if you feel as though you don't really understand Yakumo and Naruto's relationship I suggest _Mannequin_ by Katy Perry, it describes them perfectly

Also I apologize for the Kyuubi's language later on srry, but it is rated M

on to the reviews

_Thoughts13_: No naruto will not adopt the fatalist philopsy shown by neji in canon, His process in deciding weither person is trash or not prevents such a thing. He looks at every single aspect of a person before deciding, personality, skill level, potential, work ethic, teamwork etc. and studies each one closley before making his decision. Also, he does beleive that one can become better than trash, he just doesn't see it happen very often

_Tristian76_: as to how Itachi, Yakumo and Naruto got involved with Danzo, that shall be explained in later chapters. As for the ways you talked about Yakumo confesing to Naruto, I have something else in mind for that. Yes, yakumo does still use her genjutsu which inflicts actual damage to its victims. I do plan on giving her some signiture moves in this story. I'm still not sure on what type of elements she will have mastered if any, however if she does it'll probably be only one. How she overcame her natural weakness and the seal shall be explained within this very chapter. I'm still playing with the idea of her having a summoning contract but haven't really decided anything.

On to Naruto, yes he does know of his parents, which will be explained later. As for his father's signature jutsu he certainly knows of them and how to use them, however, when he will use them is still up in the air. Again he knows of sealing, as explained in this chapter a bit, but he really doesnt' focus on it as much as his father did. As for the elements that he has mastered, one of them will defintaly be wind the other is undecided for now. Mastering the rasengan to the highest level, i don't think this is going to happen which will be explained in a later chapter, though it won't be for lack of skill. Yes, I do plan on Naruto having some signature moves of his own, hopefully they will turn out really cool to lol. He will for sure have a summoning contract it will ,however, not be with toads, what his contract will be with is a surprise ^.^. He does have an inkling of what Yakumo feels for him, he understands that she may see him in a romantic light he just doesn't know how deep her feelings are for him. No Yakumo, Itachi, and Naruto were not in some sort of three way relationship, there was nothing romantic in the least between Naruto and Itachi, they were merely very good friends. Hope that answered all of your questions ^.^.

_RougeNya_: no naruto is still the kyuubi container, it simply atttacked earlier, which in a sense completely changed the history of the nations which will be explained in the next chapter I believe

_Jack Shit_: well this actually isn't the rewrite of scars, its a completely diffrent story, sorry for the confusion but thanks for reviewing anyway

sorry i couldnt' get to everyone i don't want half the story to be reviews lol

* * *

_Naruto had dealt with the shinobi in most efficient manner he could of at that time. Having at the time a low tolerance for hysterics of anyone he had attempted to console the young Yamanaka as best as he ever could before moving on. Due to the lack of sobbing he heard behind him, it seemed as though it had been enough for now and continued on. He hadn't the need to turn around to know that Yakumo had descended upon the clearing, it seemed as though she was going to bring the two kunoichi over to the group. He walked towards the center of the clearing where the other Konoha shinobi stood. Before anything was said he locked eyes with the single black one of Hatake Kakashi._

_"You've gotten soft Kakashi-san,"_

* * *

The response he received was not unexpected. Although luckily it seemed the two teams of genin were some of the less combustible ones, thus there was no outburst at his comment. The Nara and Akimichi were staring at him in dead silence as though trying to dissect him with their eyes. Sai smile seemed to widen a bit as he stared at his senpai, partially knowing the reason for his appearance there.

"Ahh Naruto-kun its been a while hasn't it," Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in what could be perceived as joy which in turn caused Naruto's mouth to tighten in response to the action.

"I guess it has if Kakashi, though it seems odd that the famed copier of over a thousand jutsu, can't even dispose of some simple rouge shinobi." The genin surrounding him blinked in surprise, whether it be because of the title of their sensei or at the tone of the newcomer was unknown.

"Still as charming as ever I see." His tone and expression never wavered as though the comment had not affected him at all. However, Naruto knew that on the inside his mind was in turmoil, no doubt wondering his purpose here. Naruto gave no inclination that he had heard and turned back towards Yakumo, seeing that she had dealt with the kunoichi and was making her way with the two young girls towards him.

"All threats have been dealt with," she said as she stepped up to his side. Naruto's eyes conveyed his approval to her before turning his attention back to the two jounin and their pupils. He gave each of them a quick glance as he moved through the group, resting a second longer on Sasuke as memories from long ago rose to the surface. He shut them out and continued on, as he did with everything that reminded him of those times that could almost be described as happy. But with those reminders came the bitter truth, that such things would never come again and that they should stay buried where they lay. This was no time for his facade to crack, break or shatter, so he let only the cold indifference show. It was the only type of emotion that prevented himself from being hurt, like he was so many years ago. Besides, he needed to get both of the genin teams moving so that they could collect the third group and travel back to Konoha.

"Let us get moving then, Sarutobi-san will debrief you on the way," With that said Naruto moved towards Yakumo, his back to the male shinobi. He made brief eye contact with Yakumo before turning and making his way out of the clearing, the shuffling of feet behind him assuring that the rest followed. He had almost slipped within that moment that he had glanced at Sasuke, whether the boy liked it or not, he was very much like his brother. This however, was the least of his problems. The confrontation between Yakumo and Yuhi Kurenai which was most likely going to occur was.

Though in all fairness, he would also have to keep his self-control in check around the woman. He had no doubt - had his sensei allowed it - that he would of killed her at that time, that time that she nearly ruined Yakumo. He had never liked her from the start, though he had always been wary of strangers when he was younger. At that time he didn't see the point of her training Yakumo with her bloodline, they already had a sensei who he believed to be stronger than that woman. Besides what was there that she could teach her, Yakumo was a prodigy, her ability made her the strongest among her clan in generations. She might of had a weaker body than most but their sensei was already helping Yakumo with that. It was not as though she needed a female presence in her life, she had her mother and their sensei.

He could still remember the look of annoyance on Midori-sensei's face, when Kurenai had declared that she was _better suited _to help Yakumo cultivate her bloodline. It was not if she was more experienced than their sensei, they were around the same age and Kurenai was a fresh jounin. However, the Hokage had deemed that Yakumo should have someone who was a genjustu specialist to train her on the side while she still did missions with the team.

He, however, had grudgingly accepted the concept after it seemed that nothing could be done to change it, besides Yakumo had seemed rather excited about learning from a fellow genjustsu user.

* * *

_He pushed at his chakra signature until it was nearly unnoticeable and moved closer to the duo. Not too far away stood the third Hokage and Kurenai, deep within some sort of discussion, a discussion he suspiciously thought had to do with Yakumo._

_"-getting dangerous, for her and those around her, I'm not sure if it can be controlled," Kurenai's cool voice cut through noise around them_

_"I see, I was sincerely hoping that this wouldn't be the case with Yakumo, but within a person's strength there is some sort of a flaw," _

_"Then with your permission Hokage-sama, I will do the sealing tonight," Naruto's eyes narrowed into a cold stare at the audacious woman, who was foolish enough to attempt to sabotage one of his teammates. The hokage gave a tired sigh before lifting his head to the sky in a weary fashion, his eyes fastened to the slow moving clouds of the day._

_"Go then," Kurenai gave a deep nod before using a shunsin and leaving the area, with Naruto not too far behind._

_At that time, the pure animalistic part of himself roared for him to tear her apart, to rip her till there was nothing more, for the threat she posed to Yakumo at that moment, no doubt fueled by the Kyuubi's near constant malice. However, that part lost out to the dominant analytical side, the shinobi side so to speak which urged him to find Itachi and Midori-sensei first before throwing himself into it. With a sigh he went off to find the rest of his team, hoping that Kurenai didn't start sooner than she had said she would._

* * *

_The sound of running feet permeated down the empty hallway as the three searched for the sealing room that Yakumo was being held in. By Midori-sensei's calculations they were not too far behind Kurenai in getting here, so she shouldn't of been able to get to the actual sealing part of the ritual. Coming upon the door of the room they needed, Itachi kicked it open while Naruto filed in first. Yakumo lay in the middle of the sealing circle her back towards them, the characters already written across her body, the sealing circle glowed in anticipation for the next step._

_Both Kurenai and Yakumo had turned towards the sound, Kurenai's face being that of shock and Yakumo's of relief. Naruto walked forward towards the circle, studying the seals used with in before finding the weakest of them. Quickly unsheathing his tanto, he brought it straight down upon the seal and shattering the circle. With a quick flick of his wrist, the chains that held Yakumo in place were severed. Itachi quickly made his way over, covering his teammates shivering form with a blanket._

_Naruto moved forward a step towards Kurenai, however, halting when he felt a hand upon his shoulder. Turning backwards, he saw his sensei and after receiving an silent order moved away from Kurenai towards Yakumo, giving the red eyed jounin a chilling glare as he did so. _

_"Naruto, you and Itachi should take Yakumo to the hospital, I'll stay behind and have a conversation with Yuhi-san," Even with her back to them they could feel the anger and the hidden threat within, quickly saying goodbye, they left the room closing the door behind them._

* * *

Fortunately for Yuhi there had been no permanent damage to Yakumo, she had a mere cause of chakra depletion that was easily cured by a day of rest. This however, did nothing to change what Naruto thought of that woman, or of the Hokage for that matter. That day, was the last day that he held any respect for him, he adamantly refused to add the expected honorific of -sama to his name when conversing with him.

Though Yuhi Kurenai was the person who suffered the most, which she ironically did with her own conduct after the incident. It had appeared that after the three genin had left, the two kunoichi had gotten into a fight of sorts which had caused some damage to the building and surrounding area. When Midori and Yuhi were brought before the civilian and shinobi council, she had mistakenly tried to place the blame upon Midori was what had done her in.

However, before any of the honorable council members of either council could speak, Midori announced what Kurenai had been doing in that building, attempting to seal the abilities of a clan heir which not only would of sealed her rare abilities but also the possibility of passing it on to her children. It was this that sent the entire council into a pandemonium of shouting.

Naruto himself had been present at this meeting, having no right to be denied entrance for it had very much to do with himself, plus he needed to give a statement upon the incident. If he had thought they were angry with the thought that the Kurama genjutsu bloodline could have been lost to them, the fact that they had found her shackled to ground had pushed them passed their breaking point. It was fairly known that Konoha upheld the fact that they were one of the few villages that had such a large number of bloodlines residing within, especially such diverse ones.

The main reason for this being was in the way that they treated ones with bloodlines. They were given specialized building permits so that they could enlarge their compounds whenever they had the need to, such as during a period when there was an influx of births among their clan. Which to Konoha meant future shinobi to look forward too. The amount of perks and special treatment that they received seemed unending from the outside looking in.

However, because they received such things from Konoha so willingly there were certain things expected of each and every one of them. At least fifty percent of their entire clan had to be enrolled as shinobi, the level nothing of importance. Each clan was to always have a legitimate heir preferably male, who would be able to continue on the bloodline in case of disease or death among a majority of the clan. These things were set in place to ensure that clans could not simply up and leave Konoha at any time that they wished, few did for the amount of political jargon and paperwork one had to go through to officaly move their entire clan was daunting to even the most slick, sharp tonged politician.

So with all of those facts in understanding, the council had felt that Yuhi who was not from any sort of clan, had attempted to intervene with clan affairs by attempting to seal Yakumo's abilities. Thus in their minds intervening with their affairs, something that they did not take much kindly too. Had not the Hokage spoken on her behalf, she would have been demoted upon the spot, perhaps even stripped of her shinobi status. However, the word of the Hokage only protected her so much; she was then demoted to a chunin, and would have to retake her jounin test to reclaim her status though with some serious consideration upon the rank committee. Although he had been a bit disappointed with her punishment, he was rather happy with the outcome: the threat was now gone and their team could return to normal.

If only for a little longer.

* * *

The two anbu and genin squads made their way down the down trodden path as they zeroed in on Team Eight's location. The genin had taken up talking amongst themselves to pass the time by while their sensei's merely prattled simple nothings back and forth. Naruto remained silent through the entire thing leading while Yakumo brought up the rear. It had almost a peaceful quality to it, however it seemed as though he had spoken too soon.

"**So that's what the last of that damn clan looks like huh?"**Naruto gave a mental sigh as the Kyuubi interjected his thoughts in what he thought was a good time to do so.

'You did see him when he was younger you know'

"**Like I was fucking paying attention back then, all I was focused on was getting your damn ass into presentable shape, I wasn't going to let some lower tailed ****Jinchuriki host**** walk all over your ass, it'd be bad for my well-deserved fucking reputation"**

'Well you wouldn't of had to worry about such things if you weren't so overly violent'

"**Don't even try to fucking start that shit with me you little urchin, you damn well know I had no control at that time"**

'I assume that you didn't start up this conversation just to insult the way that my hair lays'

"**No shit, though I must admit I felt a tear about to well in my eye when you killed that ningen in front of the kiddy genin"**

'I have no doubt that something of that nature would provoke such an emotion within you, being that you're the one always screaming 'kill the motherfucker''

"**Well, I wouldn't have to if a certain asshole we both know would just fucking do it without being told" **Naruto gave the equivalent of an mental eye roll in response to the comment **"Though it was a bit disappointing when the little bitch didn't even cry, damn it she didn't even get hysterical"**

'Which one the blonde or the pink haired one'

"**Ahh the blonde one that keeps sneaking glances at you when she thinks that you're not looking"**

'Ah, yes that is becoming rather problematic, hopefully after I ignore her long enough she'll just give up and move on to someone else'

"**Speaking of which, when are you going to get fucking laid again, geez I know that you basically dislike everyone but just because you don't like them doesn't mean you can't fuck a few of them here and there"**

'I apologize, I completely had forgotten how it's my sworn duty to provide you with any sort of entertainment please accept my humble apology'

"**You're one sarcastic bastard you know that right, though I can't really complain it would probably be a lot more boring if you weren't as clever in your comebacks"**

'Thanks for the compliment I suppose, though calling me a bastard was rather incorrect I do believe that my parents were married when I was conceived'

"**Ah, yes it's those hope-filled comments like that you say that really fill up my day with happiness, I'm practically to the point of shitting rainbows now,"**

'That doesn't sound rather healthy, perhaps you should get a doctor to look at that, oh wait you can't cause you fucked up and got yourself sealed within an infant not even two hours old, rather bad luck on your end I suppose or at least a great deal of stupidity'

"**Good god, if you keep that up I might become gay and fall in love with you - that is depending on the fact that I develop a complex for annoying jackasses, who won't even sleep with the women who practically throw themselves at them just because sometimes they get the urge to rip out their throats and have decided to live a life of solitude and chilling glares"**

'Well the whole urge of ripping out their throats is your fault in the first place, I don't sleep with them because I can tell I won't ever get them to leave me alone If I do, I didn't decide to live my life this way, and my glares don't chill them, they just fucking freeze them in their place'

"**Yeah, yeah I'm a bloodthirsty monster; I've heard it all before besides I don't remember you complaining when we made that agreement" **

Naruto was about to retort before he was brought out of his inner conversation by the flaring of Yakumo's chakra. He quickly glanced behind him to see the Yamanaka girl looking at him expectantly

"Yes?" The girl seemed somewhat flustered by his blunt response before gathering her bearings.

"I was wondering Namikaze-kun, how do you know where Team Eight is exactly?"

Naruto sighed in exapseration. "Before we left, we were given the coordinates of their last known location; factoring in the rate that they would be traveling would then put them in this immediate area."

The genin stared at him as though he just declared that he was the illegitimate son of kami and planned to enslave all of them so he could take over the elemental nations. Though the Nara was exempt from this behavior, and he was staring at Naruto with something akin to respect in his eyes.

"So I'm guessing that it won't be that much longer than?" All the attention that had once been upon Naruto made its way towards the speaker

"Hai, it should only be ten minutes at the most till we make contact with Team Eight Haruno-san." Sakura blinked in surprise at the fact that he had known her name, though it did make sense if it was his and Yakumo's mission to retrieve them they should know who they were retrieving.

"A-arigatou," Sakura blushed in embarrassment as she realized how brash her question had been. Looking up a moment later she became confused at the unhappy look that Ino was sending her way.

If anyone was going to say something it was cut off by the sound of a howling dog accompanied by a human voice that echoed throughout the forest. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched downwards as he glared down the road, as though he could already see the origin of the sound. They nearly didn't catch the declaration of 'imbecile' he mumbled under his breath, before he quickened his pace and began forward.

Due to the sudden acceleration of his steps, the rest of the group arrived a few moments after Naruto had to the fork in the road, where they witnessed Team Eight coming from the right. Kurenai seemed to pause once seeing Naruto, her eyes wide though in fear or surprise it was not known. Naruto gave each team member a quick glance before quirking the corners of his mouth up in a semi-smirk.

"My, my how lucky you are that we're comrades or else you'd all be laying in the middle of the road drowning in your own blood."

* * *

T.T I'm so srry tht it took so long to do, I had work, writers block, and a retarded computer (which is fixed because kwd has a brand spanking new laptop now woot)

but before i continue I'd like to thank Dijinn Crimsora again for being my beta for this chapter and doing it so quickly to lol

Ahh an interaction with the kyubbi yay*dances* i apologize for his dirty mouth , but that's the only way I felt right when writing him out you could say, though i rather liked the way that they interacted with each other

srry for no Narutoxyakumo goodness T.T, I don't know where that whole clan thing, much longer than i thought it was going to be

Though i did get the story out with Yakumo and Kurenai well theres one down...and so many to go but hope u enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to tell me what you think Ja ne

Next Chapter Sneak Peak:

The dark haired boy let out a whimper as Naruto tightened his grip upon his now broken wrist, his glassy eyes an indication of how close he was to letting out tears. His blue eyes had nearly darkened to a purple from the amount of malice that he felt, his larger than normal canines were bared both at the boy and his companion. He was nearly to the point of growling, he could feel it making its way from the back of his throat, it being his more primal thinking of showing the gaki his place.

"It only took a mere five pounds of pressure to break your wrist; I wasn't even trying, now imagine if I were to put forth an effort,remember that next time you even think of harassing my teammate or any other female for that matter" Immediately after he had began to speak he could feel him begin to shake, seeing that he had gotten the message he turned away as the boy collapsed to the ground clutching the injured limb to his chest. His abhorrence for the boy had certainly grown after this encounter, something that he hoped the boy would come to understand in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in anyway, if i did well Sakura would of been shipped out

**RougeNya, Thoughts13, Hellcleaner,eclipseX, nobother, Sephirotx, pentupfury, NanMiya, Dezzal, Tristian76, xfighter4, HolyKnight5, OBSERVOR01, akatsuki-tenshi-kitsune, tocool4ice, Wrytha, Icecce**: Thanks for you kind words I relly appreciate all of them, they truly movtivate me to make each chapter even better than the last ^.^

**Jack Shit**: Ahh thanks, I'm glad that you liked the "shitting rainbows" I just love a kyuubi with snarky comments and i'm glad that when i attempted to be somewhat funny i didn't completely fail ^.^

Alright here is chapter 5 of Loyal, yes after nearly three months i have given you the next chapter, something I feel really bad about. I mean I even posted a new naruto story *cough in my profile* while working on this. But hey I can't control my creativity anymore than a lion tamer can control a really hungry irritable lion.

Though I'm excited to have over 9k hits and over 100 alerts, I'm so happy ^.^ thanks again everyone

* * *

If any was going to say something it was cut off by the sound of a howling dog accompanied by a human voice that echoed throughout the forest. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched downwards as he glared down the road, as though he could already see the origin of the sound. They nearly didn't catch the declaration of 'imbecile' he mumbled under his breath, before he quickened his pace and began forward.

_Do to the sudden acceleration of his steps, the rest of the group arrived a few moments after Naruto had to the fork in the road, where they witnessed Team eight coming from the right. Kurenai seemed to pause once seeing Naruto, her eyes wide though in fear or surprise it was not known._

_"Hello team eight, how lucky you are that we're comrades or else you'd all be laying in the middle of the road drowning in your own blood"_

* * *

As expected the Inuzuka was the first to react, in the usual brash and most attention bringing way possible. By letting his jaw fall open in an undignified manner and then begin to scream a large quantity of obscenities, which was an impressive amount for someone of his age. Waiting till the boy lost his momentum, Naruto brought his attention back to the rest of team eight. The Hyuuga girl was rather meek in both her personality and attack, something that was rather uncommon among her clan, she was certainly nothing like Neji-san. One would think that she was too delicate to be a shinobi, that with having the killer intent of a lily. Though because of the agreements between the clans and council of konoha, she as the heir to the hyuuga clan must be well versed in the ways of the shinobi.

Many would think it rather back words to send an heir to their possible deaths, however this was not the case. A majority of clan heads believed that a heir who couldn't survive a battle was of no use and better of dead, which usually happened when they lacked the necessary skills. Another point that made this problem not very pressing at least to the clans that the heirs belonged to, is that many of the clan heads would produce more than one child with two objectives in mind, produce a male heir and have a backup of sorts if something were to happen to the first born child.

Although Hiashi had produced two heirs to become the next clan head, they had both been girls something that other clans would not let him forget. Also, it seemed that his nephew from his deceased twin brother was showing much more promise than his own children, a branch member out-shining the future main branch head. Because of this, there were many speculations that Hiashi was eventually going to replace Hinata with Neji as his heir if she did not begin to improve her skills and overall demeanor. Naruto would not be surprised if actually followed through with that, the girl practically lacked every aspect that was expected of a member of the main house.

Her teammate Aburame Shino was a different matter, while he was an only child he was a true prodigy of his clan. It was highly uncommon for one as young as himself to have such a large colony residing within and still be able to maintain control over them. There was no doubt that he would ultimately reach high amongst the shinobi ranks, he was calm and collected like any proper shinobi and had a very manageable ego.

The last genin's ego however knew no bounds. Although, it was well known that those of his clan were all in a sense cocky no doubt from their animalistic characteristics it was strongly defended with their skills. The Inuzuka gaki had no such claim, while he was proficient with his clan's taijutsu there wasn't much more there. It was his attitude towards the opposite sex that made Naruto dislike him. Growing up with Yakumo and having a kunoichi as a sensei had instilled within him the belief that women were to be treated with the utmost respect, not like they were a fragile flower or some sex object. Even with the two strong willed females within the gaki's life, it still seemed that he didn't treat them the way they should be.

The Inuzuka gaki seemed to finally wound down, if the angry blotches of red fading from his face and the lack of noise were any indication. The Hyuuga girl fiddled with her hands as she quietly chastised her teammate, while the Aburame simply regarded the whole thing with a detached look.

"Team eight, as per the Hokage's orders you're to be escorted back to Konoha along with the rest of the genin teams by Naruto and I," Yakumo's voice snapped team eight's attention from their inner workings, Naruto watched her from the corner of his eye gauging her reaction towards the team, it seemed as though there would be no blood shed at least on their end.

"If there are no objections, then let us start back," Naruto walked forward going down the side of the fork opposite of team eight. Yakumo followed along with both team 10 and 7. After a moments pause team eight joined also, Kurenai was careful to keep a good distance between herself and both Naruto and Yakumo not wanting to start a conflict. However, it seemed as though her one particular male student had no such thing in mind.

The group had opted to take a small resting period in a small clearing off to the side of the road, that being the genin tired out much more quickly than their superiors. They had all broken off into their little groups as they talked amongst themselves perhaps with the prospect of getting to go home.

"Oi Shikamaru, what's that girl's name?" Kiba spoke in what he believed to be a whisper

"Shouldn't you know, we did go to the academy with them"

"not them, the hot older one with the auburn hair"

"I believe she's Kurama Yakumo, at least that's what Namikaze-san and Asuma-sensei call her, why?" Shikamaru cast a suspicious eye towards Kiba hoping that he wasn't going to do what he thought he was

"Well its pretty awkward to ask someone out if you don't know their name" The condescending tone Kiba used was rather annoying and Shikamaru could feel a facial tick about to surface

"She's at least 5 years older than you are, why would she even be interested in you?" His comment had come out more forceful than he attended and Kiba blinked in surprise at it

"What's the matter Shikamaru, did an older woman turn you down?" Shikamaru's customary aloof facial expression changed to one of annoyance

"Baka, don't make such idiotic assumptions," Seriously he was almost annoying as the sandy haired girl with the pig-tails.

* * *

Seeing the genin chatting amongst themselves happily with their sensei watching over them had put Yakumo in a state of want. She suddenly had the impossible want of Midori-sensei to be there, to talk to, to joke around with like they had when they were younger. It was a stupid want, Midori-sensei was no longer with them, something she knew had affected Naruto greatly. When Naruto was younger he had trouble accepting new people within his life, something that still stayed with him to this day. Like most people he had put Midori-sensei at a distance, never letting her get too close.

* * *

_The brightly lit sky seemed highly unfitting for the situation, though it was a change from the cliche rain storm. Yakumo surveyed the area around her team, it looked as though a hundred paper bombs had gone off within the location. Trees lay splintered and smashed upon the ground, scorch marks were practically everywhere accompanied with large deep gashes. The enemy shinobi laid scattered, the grotesque positions they lay in signifying their deaths. Yakumo clenched her teeth as pain shot through her left leg, torn and bloodied, Itachi was beginning to stand his face blank. Not wanting to give a reason to think that she was useless, she began crawl towards Naruto and sensei, dragging her left leg through the bloody mud. _

_His back was to her as he hunched over Sensei, glancing to her left she saw that Itachi had also made his way over. Crawling to Naruto's side, she placed her hand on his shoulder. He tensed untill he realized that it was her. Yakumo was nearly engulfed by his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes that currently had flecks of purple and red within. Such old eyes for one so young, though both her's and itachi's no doubt had that same look, that look of wisdom far beyond their years. His glaze slid from her no doubt dirty face to her injured leg, the corners of his mouth fell and the his eyes hardened. He looked away from her, from all of them._

_"I was too careless," His knuckles were taunt and whilte as he clenched them angrily_

_"Stop it, Sensei's still alive," It was true although she was unconscious her chest was still rising and falling, though in an erratic pattern. Naruto carefully slide his arms under her knees and the middle of her back as to not aggravate her injuries. Unable to walk, Yakumo rode on Itachi's back, her sensei's sword tight within her grasp. They traveled at a brisk walk, not wanting to jar sensei too much._

_"**Hey ningen, do you like seeing your team like this?" **The forest entrance to Konoha was within sight, soon they could return back to base and get sensei medical attention._

_'No, because it means I was weak,"_

_"**You want to have the power to protect them, that same power that I gave you earlier?" **_

_'Yes' They were coming upon the check in point for their division, suddenly he felt the chakra depletion and fatigue set in his sight began to become hazy and uncoordinated_

_**"Then lets make a deal,"** That was all that he heard before he blacked out, the green of the forest floor coming up to meet him with a faint image of a room bathed in red light_

_

* * *

_

"Let's start up again, we don't have that far until konoha,"The young teens began to pick them selves up and returning to their respective teams as they began to walk back to konoha. Like when they first began walking with the group team eight kept to the middle so Kurenai wasn't in any position to aggravate either Yakumo or Naruto. Though she feared what Yakumo might do if provoked she feared Naruto much more. She could still remember the look in his eyes when he had started to walk towards her in the sealing room. They were so cold filled with any icy wrath that had frozen her within her place, had Midori not intervened Naruto would of no doubt of killed her.

Sarutobi-sama had explained after that why Naruto had acted the way that he did, with the reasoning of a predator. Although he was always suspicious of new people or ones that he did not know well, when he got to know someone as he had Yakumo, Itachi and Midori he became fiercely protective of them. He considered him his only family, and any one who who tried to harm that family and any way deserved to be hunted down. He himself had been considered part of that family until the sealing incident, Naruto had known his involvement and told him to his face that he would never forgive him. He even refused to add sama onto his title, declaring that he would never use that for a person he had no respect for.

It was because of this that she was surprised that she had been made a jonin sensei. The council for the most part had been very much against it bringing up her past failures as a teacher and stating whether it was safe or not to have her around clan heirs. She had expected such treatment after what she had done, it was when they had called upon Naruto who had been witihn the room.

_'I thank you for confindince within my reasoning abilities Honorable council member but I do not beleive that I have the appropriate skills to make such a decision, as someone like you would nodoubtfully have'_

There was no doubt that he truly didn't believe such a thing, but he said it with such a conviction that it was quickly accepted. Then she had been granted back her jonin status and the second that the meeting was adjourned Naruto had disappeared. Come to think of it, she had barely seen him since that day he never seemed to be around. Though he was an high ranking shinobi so he was no doubt constantly on various missions. He was well known amongst the higher ranks for his impression close and mid-distance techniques. When his team had been unbroken they had been somewhat of a legend amongst the jonin and anbu. Itachi for their long-range and arsenal of jutsu, Yakumo for her deadly genjutsu, and Naruto for close-range and partically his wind jutsu. It was said that it was rather awing to see all three battle as a team, their teamwork was flawless knowing what the others were thinking without even the smallest bit of eye contact. They moved as one, never getting in each others way or arguing about what needed to be done.

Even when they first came together at as a team, the natural ability to work together was surprising. It was highly unusual to see three different people be able to put everything else out of their minds in order to accomplish the task at hand. Their strengths and weaknesses corresponded as well, while Yakumo excelled at genjutsu her hand to hand combat was rather weak because of the state of her body. This was leveled out by the physical prowess of Naruto who's close-range fighting was well developed for someone of his age, he however did not have the precise control needed for genjutsu . Although he could dispel them, he couldn't do it in a way that would not alert the castor. Also both Yakumo and Naruto had few long range techniques within their abilites which was were Itachi came in. Because of his natural affiliation to fire jutsu, he could quite easily execute them a large distance away from the enemy and still be on target.

It seemed like a team formed by Kami herself, they just fit together so perfectly. Sure there were a few rough edges here and there, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed by a few years together as a genin team. Their sensei had also fit in rather well, although she was not strong in the branch of genjutsu she was extremely knowledgeable about Ninjutsu and Taijutsu which were her two specialties. Even for Naruto who's Taijutsu was impressive it was a great learning experience, she helped Yakumo to strengthen her body and Itachi to increase his arsenal of jutsu and the length at which he could execute them for.

However, it wasn't good for one's soul to dwel upon the past. That legendary team and been broken and only two now remained, something she could tell still troubled them to this day. Though the event with Itachi had probably been the largest and most painful blow. For Midori had no choice in the matter, Itachi had.

* * *

Kiba stared at the back of the aburned girl who he now knew was called Yakumo. It felt strange that he was faltering with such a thing, it was well known that within a moment of deciding that he wanted something that he would pursue that want. But somewhere deep inside there was something telling him that maybe he should back off, that nothing good would come with his pursuit. Being the rash adolescent he was he quickly pushed that feeling away, he was Inuzuka Kiba the next head of his clan even now he shouldn't be doubting his actions. With that in mind he moved closer to Yakumo his hand lowering down to her rear. Like any other male animal it was customary to exert dominance over the wanted.

* * *

It had happened rather quickly, Kiba was inching closer to Yakumo and then suddenly he was kneeling on the ground whimpering as Naruto held the boy's wrist within his hand. Yakumo had spun around immediately after she had felt something brush against her rear, her fingers forming what looked to be seals. These were discarded as found the threat to be taken care of and simply regarded the scene with a small amount of amusement and annoyance.

The dark haired boy let out a whimper as Naruto tightened his grip upon his now broken wrist, his glassy eyes an indication of how close he was to letting out tears. Naruto's blue eyes had nearly darkened to a purple from the amount of malice that he felt, his larger than normal canines were bared both at the boy and his companion. Naruto was nearly to the point of growling, he could feel it making its way from the back of his throat, it being his more primal thinking of showing the gaki his place.

"It only took a mere five pounds of pressure to break your wrist; I wasn't even trying, now imagine if I were to put forth an effort,remember that next time you even think of harassing my teammate or any other female for that matter" Immediately after he had began to speak he could feel Kiba begin to shake, seeing that he had gotten the message he turned away as the boy collapsed to the ground clutching the injured limb to his chest. His abhorrence for the boy had certainly grown after this encounter, something that he hoped the boy would come to understand in the future.

"Was that really necissary Naruto?" Surprisinly the first to speak was Kakashi, his usual carefree demeaner completley replaced with a serious look.

"It is stated under Rule 95 paragraph 3, that under no circumstance is an shinobi of Konoha to ever sexually assault a Kunoichi or female civilian." Naruto paused, his obvious annoyance from earlier now gone, "I was in a way saving him from the wrath of Yakumo, who most likely would of severely mentally damaged him as was in her right to do so," He turned away from the group as he leaned slightly against a nearby tree. It seemed as though the group not including Yakumo had not noticed the clone that he had sent into the direction of a chakra signature that he had noticed.

"Besides you know well how much Yakumo detests perverts,"

* * *

Well that certainly took a bit of time which I apologize immensely for. Finally got that done,

Well tell me what you think


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in anyway; if i did Naruto would be the greatest robot ninja pirate the world would ever see

Now for reviews!

Tatemae: Thanks I'm glad that you enjoy it, I apologize for my slow updates but whenever I try to write something for a chapter I can only seem to get so far in it before getting writer's block and thus working on a different story in the meantime, I'll try to improve my update speed

Cer015: I know how you feel, I absolutely LOVE cold narutos, it would be cool except for the little problem of naruto being a container. Sorry about the grammar but like I've said before, I'm not the best with grammar, perhaps I should study in college this fall...

OBSERVER01: Yes almost, lol thanks I'll try

Nobother: thank you, appreciate your support

Dezzal: Thanks, I'm glad that you like it so much

Wrytha: I know Naruto should of, but then there would be so much paperwork to fill out when they got back. Thanks for your review.

Edj Crow: Thanks, it nice to know that my writing doesn't come of as a bunch of weird ramblings ^.^, I know it a vastly under-written pairing at least compared to some of the other ones.

Chapter 6

* * *

The clone moved swiftly through the trees away from the genin, towards the chakra signature that had been following them for a while. Although they had not attempted to attack in anyway, it did not make them any less of a threat. Hopefully, he would be able to catch them off guard, the less of a disturbance that he could make the better. He would not be able to flash in and merely end it with a strike, no he needed to interrogate this shinobi to find the reason behind their stalking, and if there were any others lying in wait. Feeling the signature become stronger, Naruto placed his hand on the handle of his wakizashi(1) in case he would have to act quickly. Sending a small spike of chakra to his legs he burst from the trees straight in to the target with the intent on tackling them to the ground, only to fall through what felt like a pocket of chilled air.

Regaining his footing upon his landing, Naruto found his target standing around 2 meters away from him their hands moving together in preparation for a jutsu that they would never cast. Naruto flashed in front of the ninja bringing his wakizashi towards their neck using his momentum. The nin reacted better than expected, although they did not get away they attempted to move backwards out of the range of his sword. However, Naruto merely hooked his foot around the back of their calf as they moved causing them to lose their footing and fall. The moment they met ground he lunged forward his blade at their neck, hovering over their aorta artery.

Naruto studied the nin, waiting for even the slightest twitch of muscle to indicate an attempt at escape. Large brown eyes framed by long dark lashes stared back at him, their pupils dilated from either fear or merely adrenaline. The shinobi was clearly a female, the curve of the face and size of the eyes told him that much. Although, some male shinobi were feminine looking enough to be mistaken as women, something Naruto had even been prey to. He could tell that this one was truly female, their neck being far too slender and swan-like to be male.

"What is your purpose kunoichi-san?" Said kunoichi stared at him as in what seemed to be recognition as she attempted to move her neck away from his blade, she did not succeed.

"I-I'm traveling to meet someone who I'm to give information to, a person named Danzo, Namikaze-sama," Naruto's eyes narrowed at the statement, while it was true that she could be telling the truth for Danzo did have quite a few foreign ninja who reported to him and was due for a visit quite soon as well as the fact of knowing his name, for she had not followed closely enough to hear it from his traveling company. She could also merely be an impostor who killed the true affiliate and who knew of Naruto's affiliation with him.

"Have you any proof of this?" In response, the young woman brought her hand forward to the neckline of her shirt slowly as not to agitate Naruto into the use of his blade. She tugged it down to below her collar bone to reveal what would appear to most as a small tattoo at the junction of her neck and torso, however Naruto saw it for what it truly was, a seal. Naruto recognized it immediately; it was the seal that he and Danzo had worked together on a year or so back. Most foreign Ninja that that Danzo worked with usually were against having their tongue sealed to insure that no one could torture the information out of them and that it was truly whoever they were. However, with the given fact that it wasn't the hardest thing to kill and then impersonate another ninja given certain skills and circumstances it, they needed an alternative.

They had found themselves with a problem, how to insure that imposter's were not given the chance to infiltrate Root. They decided to design a more overlook-able seal, one that could be easily mistaken for a tattoo. It had been a bit of trial and error in the beginning but it had worked out in the end. Clearly this young woman was no impostor, so he removed his wakizashi from the side of her neck and placed it back into its sheath. He backed away putting an adequate amount of space between them to allow her to regain her bearings.

"I assume by the fact that you recognized me, that you were merely following me back to Konoha. When we arrive there, go to the west entrance the root guards will take you to Danzo."

"Thank you Namikaze-sama, I apologize for making you believe me to be an enemy but I could not let my presence known to you without alerting the others of your company,"

"What's done is done," Naruto paused slightly, "I believe it would be much easier if I knew your name since you already seem to know me,"

"Of course, I'm Haku the former apprentice of Zabuza,"

"Ahh Zabuza, I recall him as one of my personal affiliates,"

"Hai, he was Namikazi-sama, he however was killed by Hatake-san and his team that you are traveling with,"

"Leave it to Kakashi to kill off one of my more useful contacts," Naruto glanced at the darkened expression upon Haku's face "I take it that you dislike them a great deal,"

"I know that it is expected for most Shinobi's lives to end on the battle field, yet still I-" Haku trailed of quietly as though unable to express her feelings on the matter, Naruto's eyes softened fractionally

"I understand," Haku's face shot up as though to reject his statement, however whatever she saw within his face muted her words and forced her acceptance. Perhaps she sensed some sort of comradeship, the distinct knowing of similar experiences.

* * *

_He felt as though he was floating in nothing, there was no light. There was no earth and sky, left and right up or down, it was simply nothingness. His body felt as though it was on fire that it had somehow became his blood, racing through his veins, burning him from the inside out._

_It...hurts_

_..._

_It hurts so much..._

_..._

_Sensei..._

_..._

_...Itachi..._

_..._

_..Yakumo..._

_..._

_..make it stop..._

_..._

_...Please..._

_He couldn't know how long he writhed in the dark place hours, days, weeks. When a red light flashed before his eyes, he felt himself move towards the source behind large iron bars stood a large red fox, its nine tails waving erratically behind it. It lowered its head down to Naruto's level, staring at him with large red eyes._

_"It's time," The fox paused and tilted it's head upward as though listening to something_

_"to wake up human,"_

_The dark enclosure of the fox disappeared and Naruto was met with the sight of the white ceiling of an hospital room. He blinked a few times to bring everything into focus, a nurse stood next to him checking his vitals. He clutched the side of his head as everything came back to him, the mission, the fight, his teams' injuries, and his agreement. Disregarding his attendant he pushed himself up into a sitting position, as the said nurse attempted to push him back down._

_"Namikaze-san you shouldn't be getting up, you still need to rest,"_

_"Where is the rest of my team?" Naruto stared at the woman his no-nonsense look _

_"Uchiha and Kurama-san are both resting in their rooms; all of their wounds have been dealt with,"_

_"What of Midori-sensei?" The nurse bit down on her lip which only served to annoy Naruto. _

_"Umm-"_

_"Where is her room?" his tone gave no other choice than to answer_

_"Room 406," Naruto removed the covers from his legs, and then began to tear the IVs and monitoring devices from his person, not registering the slight pain that came with removing the needles. Ignoring the nurse, he swung his legs out of the bed easing onto his feet carefully as not to bring on a dizzy spell. Insuring that his robe was sufficiently tied, he made his way out of the door with the nurse following close behind. He paused slightly as he passed a cart of medical equipment but continued on._

_"Namikaze-san please get back into bed, you shouldn't be moving around so much after just waking up." He blocked her out as he walked towards 406, his eyes narrowed as he sensed others within his sensei's room. He swung open the door to find the sight of the Kurenai and some other jounin around his sensei; they all glanced towards the door. Naruto's eyes fell upon his sensei who lay sleeping or unconscious, a breathing mask covering her mouth and numerous bandages around various parts of her body. He could hear the rhythmic beat of her heart, he felt strange to know that it was not the monitor next to her bedside that he was hearing._

_He brought his attention back to the people around the bed of his recovering sensei, sizing each up quickly. Kurenai stepped forward coming to the opposite side of the bed that he stood near, he gave her a cool look not one movement escaping his sight. She moved her hand close towards his sensei's form, too close. Naruto's arm extended forward, the medical scalpel that he had taken slipping out of his sleeve into his hand which he pointed at the perceived threat's throat. _

_"Do not touch my sensei," The other shinobi in the room were finally reacting to his actions, though they stood back as they attempted to gauge the situation_

_"N-naruto you need-"_

_"The only thing that needs to be done is for you to move away from my sensei, I certainly don't trust you around sensei in her current state." Something flashed over Kurenai's face before she lowered her head and backed away from the patient. Having decided she was no longer a threat, Naruto situated himself into the chair that was next to him at Midori-sensei's bed side. _

_"Maa maa Naruto-kun, don't you think that was a little much on your part," Naruto sent a glare towards Hatake, and would of said something in return had he not found himself bent over forward in pain. Somewhere down the hall a cart wheel screeched against the hospital's floor, the sound seeming excruciating with his enhanced hearing. A metal instrument was dropped and clattered noisily two floors above him. He brought his unoccupied hand to his ear clutching it in pain as the sounds seemed to increase in pitch making highly annoying and painful sounds. He clenched his teeth; it felt as though his ear drums had burst, he certainly wouldn't be surprised if they were bleeding. The murmur of voices rang throughout his head all bombarding his mind at once from different locations within the hospital._

_"Alright then just prep the patient for surgery and-"_

_"Doctor Kurosaki-san's results are back they-"_

_"-Okay, now just meet me at the reception desk-"_

_"Hurry, make sure not to fluctuate-"_

_"-not possible, I'm sorry Mitra-"_

_Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to clear his mind in an attempt to drown out all of the noises that felt like they were going to destroy his ear drums. Then as though kami its self, took pity on him it all just cut off, his hearing lowered back the range it had been before the mission. Opening his eyes he found the shinobi gathered within the room staring at him with surprise or rather past him. Turning to look behind himself to see the Hokage standing in the doorway of room._

_/TS/_

_It had been three days since he had been released from the hospital; he hadn't left his apartment since. It seemed as though enhanced sense were not everything they were made out to be. For starters sounds that were originally merely slightly annoying became migraine inducing. Luckily however he was starting to get use to the new range of his hearing. He gave a slight sigh as he lay flat on his bed staring at nothing as he waited for the day to start. _

_As soon as the sun's light began to make its way into his room the minute that it reached him, he let out a string of curses before rolling off the bed where the light had yet to reach. He felt as though he had just looked straight into the sun. His vision blurred from his watering eyes as he furiously rubbed at them to get rid of the pain, although he hadn't expected for his vision to improve so quickly at least the akuma had at least had waited till his hearing leveled out. Turning away from the window, Naruto found himself staring at the leg of his dresser. He blinked in surprise as he stared at the grain of the wood, the greys, blacks; browns and whites that made of the woods color were easy to recognize there were even blues and greens that he hadn't even thought possible to be within the coloring of wood. _

_It seemed that heightened sight allowed one to observe objects in great detail, as though they were looking through a magnifying glass without the size distortion. It was rather interesting to see the plethora of colors that made up one simple pattern of brown. Naruto stood, careful to avoid the incoming light he made his way towards the front door situated near the kitchen. He cautiously made his way towards the door, letting out a small breath he slowly opened the door letting in a ray of light. He stared at the light that had made his way into his apartment; certainly staring at it from the shadows certainly didn't hurt his eyes. However, it gave no indication on whether he would be able to stand in the sunlight with his eyes open, possibly blinding himself in the process._

_It seemed however as though life decided that it was all or nothing, for at the same moment that Naruto took a step towards the illuminated part of the entrance, a child's ball ricocheted into his door slamming the door wide open. Naruto was then met with the sight of the completely uncensored outside and he cursed._

_"Son of a motherfucking bitch" Naruto pressed his palms to his closed eyelids feeling as though he had just been blinded; his nails were digging into the skin of his forehead and temples. He stumbled away from the door into the dark haven of his living room. After leaning against his couch for about twenty minutes, he gingerly removed his hands from his eyes and opened said eyes, blinking multiple times as he stared at the ceiling of the room. You know what's it's like when you stare at something bright for too long then after looking away you see small color changing dots, to say Naruto was seeing a few of these dots was quite a large understatement. The color changing shapes were practically all he could see, to the point that he could barely make out what he was even looking at. _

_Holding onto the couth to bring himself up he slowly made his way towards the bathroom to check his eyes. Nearly running into the door jam he stumbled into the bathroom, grasping onto the counter for support. He looked like hell; the sclera (2) in both of his eyes was bright red from what he assumed burst blood vessels. His pupils were practically nonexistent as they attempted to keep out as much light as possible. _

_Naruto wasn't aware of how long he stood there staring into the mirror before his pupils began to widen as they returned to normal and the red in his sclera receded. Even the rate at which the Kyuubi healed him had accelerated. Speaking of the Kyuubi, even though they had this "deal" of sorts other than trying to keep him alive longer he wondered what motivated the kyuubi to grace him with enhanced senses. Perhaps it was just his suspicious nature, but-_

_**"Suspicious? Please I've met con artists and schizophrenics that are more trusting than you," **_Naruto flinched in surprise at the Kyuubi projecting his thoughts inside his mind

"It is not as though I do not have reason for such behavior, though I am curious to how you've actually met such people with your size and appearance"

_**"I'll give you that, but does the fact that I'm a fucking demon fox mean nothing to you? We're regarded as demons with the best illusions; truthfully I only bring out the big fox form when I wish to instill the fear into the hearts of simple minded humans,"**_

"No offense, but I truly do not see you as someone to walk among the common man, I'm surprised that your pride would be able to handle it with your superiority complex as large as your fox form,"

_**"This coming from a 12 year old who speaks like someone far older, I'll take that as a compliment," **_

"Is it wrong to enjoy reading and improving one's vocabulary, I think not. Besides I've done and seen things that someone far older than I have done, why shouldn't I talk on the same level as they?"

_**"Well, at least you're not going to be boring to be stuck inside for until kami knows how long. You're wondering why I offered such abilities that a shinobi would cut off their own hand for, I certainly don't blame you. If I were in the same position I would do no different, I want to live and it's that simple,"**_

"No, it isn't that simple is it? If you just wanted to live, you would have no need to give me such enhanced abilities all you would have to do is flood my body with your yokai whenever the situation become dire,"

_**"True, but such a thing without you training to be able to control and channel my yokai would only shorten your life span. I suppose there is another reason as well; I am the Ninth biju which means that I'm the strongest of them all. I want you to be able to beat any other containers into the ground with the minimalist effort possible, I will not have my container be weak and tarnish my well-deserved reputation. Do not become too reliant, the less of my power that you have to use to do, the better. However, that does not mean that you shouldn't control how to use it. The earlier that you start adjusting to my yokai the better your body can handle it." **_

"I suppose that while being a selfish reason is not the worst,"

_**"On a different note, I've noticed that you're adjusting to your new found senses quite well, much better than I expected,"**_

"This is quite well? How is being blinded my fucking sunlight adjusting well, having your ears bleed from sounds that no normal person could ever hear?"

_**"Truthfully, compared to most people it is. Don't think that you're the first human that a demon has ever bestowed favor upon, most takes months to get a grip on their abilities and some never do. I've heard of humans falling to the despair of insanity because they cannot comprehend what they are feeling, seeing, hearing etc. So when you do in weeks what can take years, I say you're doing quite well."**_

* * *

Naruto blinked at the images and memories that flashed through his mind as his clone dispersed itself. Naruto glanced toward team 7 or rather towards the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, Sai. One had to truly wonder about the instincts of the newly minted genin, if they didn't even have a shred of suspicion, for paranoia had made some of the best ninja into what they were today. It seemed as though even for the life of him, he still couldn't get the art of smiling down, not to mention his lack of good timing.

He knew that the true reason that he had been placed on team 7 was to watch over the young uchiha. Danzo as of late, had become more concerned about the mental state of said uchiha. It wouldn't do for one of the last sharinguan holders to deflect from konoha in the pursuit of power. Konoha really didn't need to lose another potentially powerful shinobi to a siren's call, so they planted an operative so that even the first hint of deflection would be extinguished immediately.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder what Itachi had said to his younger brother to instill such a avenger like outlook. However, it was truly none of his business that was between them and it didn't need his attention unless it started to affect his own person. Naruto glanced back to team 7 to see Sasuke looking in his general direction, at least the boy was intelligent enough not to stare down his target. It wouldn't be surprising if he actually remembered Naruto, it wasn't as though he hadn't gone to Itachi's house that often. The sasuke from the time idolized his brother, there were quite a few times that he would follow him to their training grounds.

Sensei and Itachi's mother Mikoto had gotten along quite well, though his father was rarely ever there when they visited. Mikoto-san had the habit after getting to know her son's teammates to refer to him as 'naru-chan' because she found his whisker-like marks to be adorable, and Itachi and Yakumo had never let him forget it. She would also load up Itachi with large bentos, for the team declaring that growing children needed their nutrition, and she always found a way to include fish cake into Naruto's. It had felt strange to be treated so kindly or rather motherly compared to how almost everyone else in the village treated him. It was rather sad that she had not survived the massacre. It was 6 months after meeting Mikoto-san, when naruto found out why she acted like a mother towards him.

Mikoto had known his mother, in fact she had been one of the few people who had even knew about her pregnancy. Given his status of orphan, Naruto had soaked up the information about his mother immediately. After hearing stories about her from Mikoto, he would sometimes find himself staring into his mirror passively wishing that he would of looked more like how his mother was described. That instead of blue he could of received her violet hued eyes, or to share her plum-red hair. But most of all he wished he could of met his mother, Kushina Uzumaki. While she had quite the temper in her time, the amount of joy that she had shown through her pregnancy for him had formed a warmth within his chest. He knew, had she survived the Nine-tail's attack she would of been a wonderful mother. A wonderful mother who would of given him a happy and loved childhood.

But his mother didn't survive and he would never get to meet her, so he told himself was no real point dwelling within the 'what ifs' and refused to think any more on it. All he had were stories and for him, they were enough. Naruto glanced towards Yakumo when he had heard her mutter 'finally, glancing forward he saw the faint outline of Konoha's outer wall. They were nearly home, where their true mission would finally truly begin.

* * *

1) a traditional short blade between 30 and 60 centimeters ( 11 and 23 inches), it's usually paired with a katana however, I felt a shorter sword that Naruto could draw easily and quickly would suit him well

2) the white part of the eye

Authors note:.

I sincerely apologize for such a long wait on this chapter, I really couldn't seem to write anything in this chapter for the longest time.

Damn that was a long flash back huh, I have to say it came out much longer than I had realized, at first it was just supposed to show Naruto waking up after that disaster of a mission that was mentioned in the last chapter, but it kind of evolved into Naruto adjusting and conversing with Kyuubi, which I love to write.

I must say that when I was reading this over when Kyuubi said that I'm the strongest of them all, it for some odd reason reminded me of the first Pokémon theme song that I'm sure that a good portion of you must know by heart (myself included) . Then this lead to a mental image of Kyuubi singing this, Scary I know

I know that alot of you are going 'where's the romance dammit, I want some Naruyaku, Naya, Naku or whatever the hell it's called (I'm not sure if there is a official pairing name for this couple so just bear with it) and I want it now! I share your sentiments, hell if I was the one reading this and not writing it I'd be thinking the same exact thing, but don't fret your little heads for when I do get to the ship yumminess that is Naruto and Yakumo, it shall rain down upon you ^.^ lol might want to bring an umbrella :D *wink* *wink* if you know what I mean

I understand that some of you might also be annoyed at the pace of the plot at this point and just want Naruto and Yakumo to throw off their clothes and just get with it. I never really liked this sort of plot within a story, sometimes depending on how it is written it can actually make me cringe as I read it (not that I'm saying anything about the authors themselves as much as the idea of the scene within its self), where one person voices their love for one person through a confession and that person automatically loves them as well, that is not how the world works no matter how much we all wish it could. Romance can be one of the hardest things to write in my opinion just because everyone's idea of romance is different.

I myself scoff at Romeo & Juliet-esque romances because the idea of being in love with someone you have yet to have conversed with yet seems ridiculous to me, other people may enjoy these sorts of love stories, a shallow love based on appearances rather than personality. Some dislike where the couple takes a while to form, where they get tired of the two tip-toeing around each other for a good portion of the story. When it takes more than a certain length of time within a story it annoys me a bit as well, so to me a great romance story is a mix of the two, where they have the passion of Romeo and Juliet yet the patience to get to know each other before they truly become a couple.

...I apologize for that semi-rant on romance; it just kind of came out...

Anyway, until next time and go on ahead and tell me what you think ^.^ I truly value your opinions


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